In addition to the student art, each member of "The Nine" has a work on display...including me!
Meanwhile, while Americans as a whole are killing less, America’s police are doing the opposite. The number of people fatally shot by cops has increased every year since 2020—in 2024, officers killed at least 1,226 people nationwide, an 18 percent increase over 2019, according to an analysis by the New York Times that drew on data from the Washington Post and the nonprofit Mapping Police Violence.
The uptick in police violence hasn’t occurred everywhere. Many Democratic-leaning states that enacted reforms after George Floyd’s death in 2020 saw police killings fall slightly in the years afterward, according to Samuel Sinyangwe, the data scientist who leads Mapping Police Violence.
But Republican-leaning states that didn’t enact reforms saw major increases. “There has been a backlash to the protests,” Sinyangwe says, referring to the countless demonstrations sparked by Floyd’s murder, “whereby Red states further funded and encouraged more aggressive policing practices and imposed barriers on local jurisdictions trying to enact reforms.”
From a story in The Washington Post about funding cuts impacting schools, including at least one system in Alabama:
"At Gadsden City Schools, a district about 60 miles northeast of Birmingham, Alabama, nine of the 12 schools use $1.5 million in federal community learning center funds to operate their after-school programs.
Gadsden’s median household income is $38,699. About 72 percent of the district’s 4,000 students qualify for free or reduced lunch, according to school officials.
The district’s after-school programs have contributed to increased student achievement, said Janie Browning, who runs community education and coordinates 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants for Gadsden City Schools.
With the expansion of after-school academic enrichment programs, Donehoo Elementary School improved from a middling 71 percent state report card grade to an 88 percent in the 2023-24 school year. The school was recognized statewide as one of the top 25 schools for greatest improvement this past school year.
Raeven Bagley, 34, said she was pleasantly surprised when her 9-year-old daughter, Cassiyah, came home from the after-school program at George W. Floyd Elementary in Gadsden knowing how to write in cursive.
Bagley earns $40,000 a year raising funds for child literacy for a local United Way branch. The after-school program gives her peace of mind that her daughter has a safe and educational environment to grow in at no extra cost.
“It’s not just play time. It’s not just babysitting. They’re actually learning,” Bagley said.
Gadsden City Schools’ current grant, which was awarded in 2022, expires in September. If cuts are approved by Congress, the $1.8 million in after-school funding the district is set to receive in October could be put in jeopardy.
Congress is in the midst of drafting legislation to fund education programs, along with the rest of the federal government, by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
“Without [funding], kids are going to be going home often to no one being there because families have to work,” Browning said. “After-school is a lifeline for families and students. To think we would have to operate without providing that lifeline to parents is devastating.”
FULL STORY IS HERE.
1. Cleveland, OH
2. Detroit, MI
3. Memphis, TN
4. Fort Smith, AR
5. Gulfport, MS
6. Toledo, OH
7. Birmingham, AL
8. Huntington, WV
9. Montgomery, AL
10. Mobile, AL
Entire list is HERE.
Here are the names for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, along with how to pronounce them:
Drafted on this date in 1973...the last draftee.
I chose journalism, which did NOT keep me from Vietnam. I ended up anchoring an evening newscast at AFVN Detachment 5 in Quang Tri, just south of the DMZ.
On Thursday, 6-27-25, I had more than 1,700 visitors to this website.
I can easily remember when I counted the day I had 100 as significant.
Thank you all for visiting!
UPDATE:
Maryland parents have a religious right to withdraw their children from classes on days that stories with gay and transgender themes are discussed, the court ruled.
The story: HERE
(This is what happens when people elect religious zealots to the court!)
The Supreme Court will hand down its final decisions of the term on Friday, including an expected high-profile ruling on whether President Donald Trump may enforce his divisive executive order curtailing birthright citizenship.
As is tradition, Chief Justice John Roberts announced the final day from the bench.
The schedule sets up a blockbuster last day at the Supreme Court in which the justices will hand down six opinions in some of the biggest cases of the year, including those dealing with Trump’s birthright citizenship order, a challenge from religious parents who want to opt their children out of reading LGBTQ books in school and a First Amendment suit over a Texas law that requires people to verify their age before accessing porn online.
Every year, the high court tries to finish its work by July, though it is unusual for the justices to bunch so many closely watched cases into the final day. Last year, the court handed down three opinions on the final day – including the decision granting Trump immunity from criminal prosecution. Two years ago, the court issued three opinions, including a ruling shutting down President Joe Biden’s student loan relief program.
Balloon releases are popular....but haven't we learned by now that those balloons do more harm than good? Here's the WHY: https://www.generalcode.com/blog/balloon-releases-legislation/
And HERE is the story of the balloon release shown below.
From a Washington Post story:
A young janitor’s role in thwarting an attempted bombing in 1958 is the latest addition to an Alabama oral history project now facing the loss of federal funds.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — He came to historic Temple Beth-El to tell his story, which is also the congregation’s story: How, during the early turbulence of the Civil Rights era, he helped to foil what would have been a devastating attack on their synagogue.
The oral history project has a list of at least 150 more people to interview — many in their 80s and 90s — before their memories fully fade or they die. Mjumbe’s father-in-law recorded his own story about being a Freedom Rider in the early 1960s as young activists challenged segregated buses across the South. Not long after, he developed dementia.
“Every day there is a very real likelihood that there is something that could be lost in terms of their recollections,” said Mjumbe, who titled the project “Evidence of Things Not Seen.”
Thanks tRump.
From a CBS story:
Documents reveal that investigators found a total of 48 guns in Boelter's home as well as a tub of ammunition. Of those guns, there were 20 rifles, 15 revolvers, nine shotguns and four pistols. Additionally, charges say officers found at least three AK-47 assault rifles and a 9mm handgun inside an SUV registered to Boelter.
Are supporters of gun rights OK with this? I mean, is there ANY number of guns that is too large for an individual to have? (I found the photo below online. It displays a gun collection that has no connection to Boelter).
The confederate flags surrounding the memorial were removed, without notice, by Governor Robert Bentley, on June 24, 2015.
Bentley resigns on 4-10-17: NY Times story is HERE. 
With all of this military war talk, there's also talk of renewing a military draft. My nominee for the first draftee?
Barron.
I have no idea what his draft classification is. Back in my draft era I was "1A" (Available for military service.) I have no idea if there is a "bone spur" classification.
Hey tRump? How about promoting Barron as a volunteer draftee. Too close to home for you?
Sports has it's own language. In English the word commit is defined this way:
To commit oneself to a course of action, a principle, or a relationship. This means making a promise or declaration to do something or to be involved in something, often with the expectation of following through
But in sports "commit" basically means nothing. Even though we refer to an athlete as being a "commit" and "committing" to a team, they frequently do NOT follow through.
From The Washington Post:
People in the community who knew the Boelters have been struggling to reconcile the neighbor they knew with the man authorities say tried to rampage and kill Minnesota politicians. He declared himself a born-again Christian at age 17, and based on his recent online activity, an expert said his views appeared to align with those of the political “far right” of American Christianity.
Time is a liar.
It calculates my age as 75.
(but how can that be? I was just 45 a few years ago!)
